Inside supermarket chain that offers luxury products at huge discounts
An incredible national discount supermarket chain has amazed buyers by offering a surplus of affordable luxury items. Grocery Outlet Bargain Market offers deep discounts from both private-label and name-brand suppliers across the country. With 484 locations across the US, the retailer has stores on both the East Coast and West Coast, including New Jersey, Washington, Pennsylvania and 273 stores in California alone, according to Scrape Hero.
Many of the locations are independently operated and offer an array of local options catered to their specific areas. All items are purchased directly from manufacturers, never from other retailers. Some of the featured bargain items that customers can get their hands on include ground Wagyu beef, high-end ice cream brands, and manuka honey for more than 50 percent off. The company was founded in June 1946 by James Read, who bought a surplus of government food items to sell at vacant stores across the Bay Area. Read originally named his company Cannery Sales, but after it acquired Globe of California, he re-named it Canned Foods.
In 1971, Canned Foods signed its first agreement with American food production company, Del Monte Foods, before signing to other well-known brands like Revlon, Quaker Oats Company and ConAgra. The first independent Canned Foods store opened its doors in 1973 at a location in Redmond, Oregon. After Read died in 1982, his two sons, Steven and Peter took over the company, and in 1987 it was officially named Grocery Outlet. About 10 years later, 100 stores were opened across the US.
In 2001, the grocer acquired the remaining liquidated inventories of Webvan, an online grocery business that filed for bankruptcy just three years after launching. The company went on to acquire Wine.com, an online wine retailer, in that same year after the business filed for bankruptcy. By 2002, the bargain grocery store changed its name to Grocery Outlet, Inc., before purchasing 16 Yes!Less grocery stores in Texas and one in Louisiana. In 2006, Steven Read's son, MacGregor Read, and Eric Lindberg, the son-in-law of Peter Read, were promoted to co-CEOs. Three years later 'Bargain Market' was added to the company's name and Berkshire Partners, an American private equity firm, invested in the store.
The store went public a decade later and started trading on Nasdaq Global Select Market in June 2019. As of January 2023, RJ Sheedy was named as the new President and CEO of the bargain store. According to the outlet's website, each location has its own weekly circular filled with discounted items local to each area. The grocer has great deals on Free Graze American Style Wagyu and Kobe beef for $5.99, which is typically sold at Walmart for a little over $9. Grocery Outlet Bargain Market also features upmarket ice cream products, including the lactose free and keto-friendly Rebel Ice Cream brand.
Pints of assorted flavors are currently on sale at the store for $1.99, while they usually run for more than $6, according to the ice cream company's website . Other typically high-priced items, including Truff marinara sauce, are sold for $9.99 at the bargain store. Another great steal that the store offers is discounted manuka honey, which typically cost about $40 at other stores, while Grocery Outlet Bargain Market sells it for just $14.99.
Manuka honey, commonly known as one of the most expensive varieties of honey, is used for more than just flavor, as it promotes other health benefits, including protecting wounds and preventing infection, according to WebMD . The store also offers a selection of discounted wine, as a bottle of rapper Snoop Dogg's 19 Crimes rosé can be purchased from the store for a whopping $2.99. The bottle of wine typically sells for $15 or more online and at liquor stores.
High-end chocolate bars have also made it onto the store's shelves, but for much less than competing retailers. HU organic chocolate company typically sells candy bars for around $6, according to the website, but at Grocery Outlet Bargain Market, one bar costs just $1.99. Other well-known brands that the store sells include KIND, Justin's, Amy's. Udi's, Tyson, Hillshire Farms, and many more.
'Whether it’s through packaging changes, surplus inventory or product overruns, our buyers source it all – everything from fresh meat and produce to our natural and organic NOSH items to the WOW deals we can hardly believe ourselves,' the website said. The company added that it owes a lot of its success to the 'hundreds of local families' who own and operate their own stores across the country. 'So come in and see for yourself. It might seem like a dream, but we guarantee the savings couldn’t be more real,' the company said.
